Review: The Price by Alexandra Sokoloff

Shock horror, I've not only read something, I've reviewed it!

And it was good.

The review is over at HorrorScope for your viewing pleasure.

Review: Phoenix and the Darkness of Wolves by Shane Jiraiya Cummings

I've posted my review of this novella from Damnation Books over on the HorrorScope blog. Check it out here.

Review: Jack of all Trades by K. C. Shaw

Last night I was gifted an unexpected reading pleasure.

Recently I’ve been wading my way through tomes which lived in darkness. I have been surrounded by devils and demons, ghosts, vampires and other creatures of evil; killers, sadists, masochists and other undesirables our society has spawned. If I didn’t own my own little black and twisted heart then I’d have been in danger of becoming quite depressed and possibly more than a little paranoid.

But last night the sun shone into the darkest recesses of my shadowed world and offered a little hope that a good read can be found in the most unexpected places.

I also found that words I often thought trite do have a place in the review world. We’ve all seen blurbs were a book is labelled as ‘wonderful’, ‘enchanting’, ‘a pleasure to read’ – I always looked at these labels as people being dishonest. It’s like saying something is nice. What is nice? It’s a word people use when they have nothing nice to say. It’s sprinkling flowery camouflage over the compost heap they perceive before them. Last night I read a book that was wonderful. Last night I read a book which both enchanted and entertained me thoroughly. Last night I became lost in an imaginary world which was a pleasure to read.

Last night, I read Jack of all Trades by K.C. Shaw from cover to cover.

Granted, I don’t read a huge amount of books aimed at young adult or younger markets, but this book is like a Pixar film and crosses the age boundaries with ease. Everyone will enjoy this. When I closed the book I felt happy to have read it, content with the way things worked out and eager to suggest my ten year old daughter should read it next.

A love story, a tale of friendship, and one of tolerance. It takes the reader back to times when children respected their elders, when a hard day’s work was gratifying and when the most important things in the world were those around you.

It is full of action, what many in the past would label ‘a real page turner’ with so many things happening in the life of one man you wonder how it all relates back to the central plot, but Shaw manages to keep all the balls in the air, circulating them with ease, until she decides to allow one to drop into place and the central picture becomes that much clearer to the reader. Everything is related to everything else. There are no loose ends and the connections are a joy to reveal.

The only downfall I can point to is the length. The experience is over far too soon and there is no loose end to naturally lead onto other books in the series. Yes, our hero, and his lady-love, may travel and experience new adventures, but this book has painted such a wonderful community, it would be difficult to let it go. Still, if the author is able to build minor characters and weave such a wonderful plot into a standalone book for each addition to Jack’s adventures – then this series will become a staple of every school library. I will be happy to buy each new book as it’s released and I would read them before giving them to my daughter.

This gave me back the feeling of wonder I had back in school when I read classics like Charlotte’s Web, or even further back when I read the Jungle Book. I remembered the enjoyment of a tale that made me laugh and just made me feel good. It is a simply well told and very entertaining story.

You may have noticed that I haven’t gone into plot detail. I’m trying to do this less and less. I want to give you my opinion on the book, not a quick rundown of its contents. There are plenty of other review sites which will fill you in on plot points if you prefer that.

This book gets a 4.6 making it the only non-dark fiction and non-adult orientated book to earn 5 out of 6 on my review scale. If I haven’t sung it’s praises enough already then let me leave with you a reminder as to what I think about books which score a 5 on my scale: Outstanding. You must buy this book. If money is tight, then steal it.

Review: The Sour Aftertaste of Olive Lemon

Bucket 'O' Guts Press made an inspired choice when they chose Catherine J Gardner's tale of twisted woe as the flagship for their chap book series.

Their guidelines state: We want fiction that cannot be classified or pigeonholed. The only contingency is your story must leave us all scratching our heads. Make us say “WTF?” But force us to read it again. Plant an earworm that gnaws away at our grey matter and leaves behind a plaque of damn good storytelling.

I decided I'd read Cate's offering this afternoon as it would be a quick read and be a good way for me to kick start me back into work. By the end of it I was definitely asking WTF? And then I read it again.

On opening the slim book, I was amused to find this little caveat on the inside front cover: This chapbook and the characters herein are a work of fiction. If this story or characters have any resemblance to your own life, then it is a coincidence, or you need to share whatever it is that you're smoking.

Couple that with the earlier stated guidelines and you just know you're in for something different.

If you're new to the Catherine J Gardner brand of fiction, then 'The Sour Aftertaste of Olive Lemon' will leave you in no doubt as to the unique voice, the mastery of the metaphor, and the exquisite use of vivid narrative description this author has developed from years of penning the weird and wonderful. It will also leave you searching out her online work and with a want to quickly obtain her printed material.

I'm lucky enough to have read (and own) a great deal of Cate's work and to be able to call her a friend, but with all sentiments aside, Olive will make you think, and when you get to the reveal, it will definitely make you say 'WTF?'

On a personal note, I've read two chapbooks this year - Olive and Felicity Dowker's Phantasy Moste Grotesk (not sure if they have any left though). If this is the quality we have to look forward to with future releases of chapbooks, I for one will be ordering often and early to ensure I get one - I suggest you do the same.

Chapbooks don't get a gig on my review scale. They are a different animal and can't be held up alongside full novels or anthologies in my opinion. Flick's didn't get a score and neither does Cate's but I would happily give both a 4 out of 5 on the Amazon scale of things if that helps you decide on whether to buy them or not.

Review: This Is Not A Game by Walter Jon Williams

My review of 'This Is Not A Game by Walter Jon Williams is now up over at HorrorScope - your home of all great book reviews - go have a look and if you like techno-thrillers, near future sci-fi, have fond memories of D&D, or like to learn the tools of the trade in writing a story, then do yourself a favour and go out and buy the book.

On my review scale I'm giving it a well deserved 4.4!

Review: The Grave Thief by Tom Lloyd

New review has been posted over at HorrorScope. I finally got around to finishing Tom Lloyd's 'The Grave Thief' - has anyone else read it?

It's a huge read and a very complex story, but told with amazingly detailed and descriptive prowess. On the BT Scale of book goodness, I give it a 3.7 - slightly higher than the last fantasy epic I read.

Next!

Review: Dexter by Design

I've finished reading Dexter by Design and have posted my review of it on HorrorScope. A very good book and an excellent addition to the franchise - easily the best book out of the four I've read, although that could be because the third was the worst and I have been easily impressed by the return to normal programing that this one delivers.

Anyway, at the time of reading, I've given this book a rating of 4.0 - high praise from me.

Next...

Oh dear, The Grave Thief by Tom Lloyd - the third book in the Twilight Reign series. On it's own it stands at 488 pages! There is a Dramatis Personae Index at the back of the book which encompasses 7 and a half pages! A true cast of thousands.

No rest for the wicked...

Review: Ravensoul by James Barclay

My review of James Barclay's Ravensoul is up at HorrorScope.

Personally, because I haven't been an avid follower of the series, I found the first third of the book to be less than worthy, but the last two thrids of the book were exceptional.

On my Review Scale Ravensoul gets a solid 3.6.

Review: Sheep and Wolves by Jeremy C. Shipp

I've posted another review on HorrorScope. And it's another Jeremy C. Shipp book I've reviewed.

I know one or two of you have expressed an interest in his work, and I'm open-minded enough to say I've found the reading an interesting and informative exercise, but Bizzaro fiction is not really something I'd seek out in the future.

Regardless of this fact, Sheep and Wolves Collected Stories by Jeremy C. Shipp and published by Raw Dog Screaming Press gets a 3.1 on My Review Scale.

Have you read it? What do you think?

Review: Vacation by Jeremy C. Shipp

Head on over to HorrorScope for my review of Jeremy C. Shipp's debut novel 'Vacation'.

On My Review Scale I'm giving it a 3.4.

Review: Atrum Tempestas

Atrum Tempestas available at Lulu.

Publisher: Black Hound

What they say: A collection of dark, surreal and fantastical tales that will prick your senses. Written by the cream of up coming and established authors, this collection will leave you compelled and looking over your shoulder.

What I say: Unfortunately, the above blurb is nicely written and a good example of a useful sales pitch which bears little resemblance to the actual product.

There are gems within the 25 stories offered, but the journey to find them is a difficult one for they are few, and the ground between them is vast and littered with rubble.

And I don't blame the authors at all. The editorial efforts are nonexistent with bad grammar, typos and poor sentence structure allowed to pass onto the printed page.

Many of the stories have a good premise, but fail in execution. Some should not have made the short list. It feels like there wasn't a huge response and so some below par stories were included, which brings down the reading experience.

But enough negatives, there are some solid positives here as well.

The cover is a nice piece of artwork. I tip my hat to Crystal Adkins (staff member of SNM Horror Magazine as well as an obvious freelance artist of talent).


While good stories at the beginning of the anthology were rare, (I found two in the first sixteen offered) it did get better as I went through, and it almost came home with a wet sail (five good ones in the last eleven).


In total, I found seven stories I enjoyed. Stories with a plot, characterisation, setting, and written with enough skill, that any editorial mishaps or oversights did not detract from my enjoyment. They came at the premise from a new or unique angle, or were just downright disturbing. These stories shone out from the others like diamonds on a black velvet cushion.


In no particular order other than how they appear in the TOC, they are:


Chalky White by Gregory Hall (Easily my favourite in the entire anthology)

That Damned Old House by Jeff Ezell (Evil clowns, with a hell of a twist)

Harlequin by Sarah Basore (Poignant with a deadly sting in the tail)

Q by Jade Eckert (this is original and very well written)

Child Villain by Danielle Ferris (Yes I'm a sucker for an evil child tale, but this girl is disturbing)

Would You Like Fries With That by Ben Eads (enough to put you off fast food for at least a week)

Apart from the above mentioned authors, the other stories were told with mainly fair to good attempts as far as technical writing skills, but the premises adopted were overused, cliched, and generally a bit of a yawn. I would not like to see the good stories overlooked because of the bad points which abound, so I leave you with one final, exceptional point: you can purchase and download this anthology from Lulu for only $1.40US. I strongly suggest reconsidering any thoughts of paying for the print version.

On my reading scale, this anthology only gets a 2.4.

Grants Pass Review

I've posted my review of the invitation only anthology 'Grant's Pass' over at HorrorScope. Go here to check it out! On my review scale, I'm rating it at a healthy 4.3.

I should have updated my currently reading to convey my sudden switch, but...I didn't.

Now before I move onto the mountain of books which has arrived, I promised Danielle I'd review her anthology, and as I paid good money for it, I'd better keep that promise, so I'm about to begin reading Atrum Tempestas.

Reviewing Responsibility

This post is inspired by this post over at Rachelle Gardner's blog.

Lately I've been more proactive in making contact with recently published authors in an effort to gain new books for me to review on HorrorScope and here. In talking with one such author it has become apparent I need to do separate posts for each review (including separate posts on this blog with the links in, to make them easier to find), and a separate post for my review scale (this might be moved to my website and a link placed here on the blog. This will make it easier for me to maintain.)

My latest review, of Alexandra Sokoloff's The Harrowing, is posted here on HorrorScope. You'll also find recent reviews for Promise Not To Tell by Jennifer McMahon and Envy the Night by Micheal Kortya. Of course these, and all my other reviews can be accessed from my review page.

But enough about me. The reviews highlighted by Rachelle show how appalling many reviewers can be, so I thought it might be time to revisit what a reviewer should be trying to achieve.

Any reviewer needs to remember that their number one responsibility is to be honest without being hurtful. You are providing a review, you are not a critic - and this is not a critique. The easy way to remember is a critic is an arsehole who likes to be critical, nobody wants that label so don't do it. A critique is where constructive feedback is provided to a writer.

You are running interference on the reader's behalf. It matters nought if you know the writer. If you are not able to give an honest opinion of someones work for fear of upsetting them, then decline to do a review. Amazingly, I've done, what I've considered, harsh reviews in the past and authors have only picked out the good bits and ignored the rest. Fair, honest, and thorough are common descriptions of my reviews. I couldn't care less if the words, excellent, good, crap, or terrible are associated with them, as long as honest makes the list.

Being a writer help, I think. No book, regardless of how badly written or put together I believe it to be, should be resoundingly ripped apart in a review. A writer somewhere out there has invested countless hours in its creation. Editors have done their bit, and then publishers, etc, etc. It takes a lot of people to get a book onto the shelves and therefore, if it doesn't appeal to you as a reviewer, that doesn't mean it won't appeal to others. Yes, you are to give your opinion, but you should also have a broad an open mind. I've read a few books which I haven't liked very much. Anything which gained a 2 or less on my scale would fall into this category, and yet, I try to be honest and open minded in my view. I tell those who read my review what the good points of the book are, and I tell them what the bad points are - and why I think it has bad points. You must provide reasons, not just slander the book because you can.

If the book is considered in most circles as a classic, like the examples in Rachelle's post, then try to understand why, do some research before you make a fool of yourself. If you do the research you will be able to make comment on why others thought it was good, and then mount your counter arguments as I did here with The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. You'll note I mentioned a longer review to come - well it never did. But you'll also note, I mention lots of good points about the book, and quantify what I considered the bad points.

In the end, a reviewer must remember a couple of points. Your first responsibility is to the reader, not the author, but in doing so, you must be honest in your appraisal and not just scathing of the author's work (or overly profuse in your praise for that matter). Have tact, learn diplomacy, and find good and bad points with the work, and report accordingly - particularly if you didn't like the work (there is always something good to say about something, even if it's just a nice cover.) Balance and honesty need to be the words to live by.

Good luck.

Busy Day

I wrote up the two reviews of the books I read over Easter and posted them on GoodReads. Others have already posted reviews of them on HorrorScope so I figured I didn't need to add to them. If you haven't yet, you should all go and join GoodReads. You'll get cool widgets to display your book collections and be able to read heaps of reviews - by me and others.

I took my little one to see "Race to Witch Mountain" which was okay for a kids flick. My little one seemed to enjoy it and at least the lad from High School Musical wasn't in it.

Then I came home and started reading a YA manuscript for a friend. First thoughts have been sent back and I'll get to the line edits tomorrow. I probably won't be finished with it till some time over the weekend.

I did a revision on my Christmas antho piece (now titled Spoilt Rotten) and sent that out to the same friend so they could have the honour of ripping it apart first. When returned, I'll do a revision and then send to my other beta readers - stay tuned.

My sister dropped by to borrow another book from my growing collection and return Alex Sokoloff's "The Harrowing" - which she agreed was a very good book. I'll be posting my review of it on HorrorScope shortly so keep an eye out for that as well.

My back and legs are hurting a bit tonight, so I don't think I'll accomplish anymore on the writing front today. Chapters 21 to 24 encompass the midpoint climax in AKL and a ramping up of the pace which increases all the way to the end of the book, but 21 in particular is the main character's major turning point. It's here they realise the bigger importance of their inner desire as opposed to the external want. If, and it's a big if, I can get out of bed at a reasonable hour, I'll have a go at writing it tomorrow, before going over an assignment, and then resuming editorial work on the YA manuscript. Might even break all that up with a spot of reading...

Still no news from the market place :(

Here's hoping life is being good to you.

BT

Review: MageSign by Alan Baxter

I've posted my review of Alan Baxter's MageSign over on HorrorScope. This is a good piece of Dark Fantasy - I recommend it with a solid 4/5 on the Amazon scale and a good 4/6 on my own scale. It's worth the read.

Review: Tainted - Tales Of Terror And The Supernatural

Edited by Aaron Polson
Published by Strange Publications 2008

I was one of the lucky ones and if you wish to be counted among their number as well, then you’ll read no further of this review, for it may colour your thoughts and forewarn you of that which lies in wait between the covers of this anthology.

I missed the announcement for submissions to this anthology so I never read the guidelines. I was unaware of what Mr Polson wanted when he compiled this book. In hindsight this was a good thing. I came to read the stories contained herein with no preconceived ideas and if you wish to experience the same wonderful delight I did, then you’ll stop reading this now, and start reading Tainted: Tales of terror and the supernatural.

For those of you who have had the good fortune to have already consumed the offering or for those of you brave enough to have continued to read my ramblings, then here is what I thought of the anthology.

Inspired by the masters of the macabre in times gone past: namely Messer’s Poe, Blackwood, Beirce, Wells, and Benson, Aaron Polson has gathered together eight tales of terror and the supernatural by modern day counterparts, and just to prove how faithful they have been, he has included Beirce’s ‘The Boarded Window’, Benson’s ‘The Caterpillars, Blackwood’s ‘The Empty House’ (my personal favourite), H.G. Wells’ ‘The Red Room, and finally Poe’s ‘The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar.

The modern day weavers of words manage to hold true to all that was esteemed wonderful in literary fiction before these tales of woe warranted a sub-genre of their own. It’s true I knew nothing of the requirement to style tales after a master when I first began reading them, and commented to the editor how surprised I was at how mainstream the fiction came across.

From all the selected new stories, I most admired three. In the order they appear in the book, they are:

Fish balls and Mushrooms by Natalie L Sin – a wonderfully told tale which takes us out of the traditional English or quaint American town the masters wrote about, but maintained their style and technique. A wonderfully chilling tale, externalising how envy eats one young man while his friend succeeds. The narratives and descriptions are wonderfully rendered while the tension is layered on thickly in the classic manner.

The Lion Roared by Jodi Lee was another favourite although in this I could be biased. Give me a well told story containing the unbridled creepiness of child ghosts and I’m putty in the author’s hands.

Lastly, The Tethering by W.D. Prescott made me look twice to see if I’d mistakenly left one of the masters off the list. His emulation of the style and technique in character voice and setting so mirrored those he was asked to, I was taken aback.

Blackwood’s modern counterpart ‘Station Thirteen’ by Camille Alexa arrived in a very close fourth on my list of the modern favourites, and deserves a mention here, as I had to unduly mark her against my favourite tale in the entire collection.

I am yet to find a book without the telltale sign of a flawed link and most of the way through this wonderfully presented publication I thought I’d finally found my grail, but, alas, Carmine Skeptic failed me. The writing was solid and faithful as was required, but the detail too closely matched H.G. Wells’ offering. Being alongside the master’s work only highlighted the lack of real creativity here, which I’m sure Ms Pyne is more than capable of accomplishing as witnessed by her impressive list of past writing credits. It is a good tale, just not as original as the others so in being a blemish, it is really only the slightest of smudges, but I would be remiss if I were not truthful in all my undertakings.

Overall, I heartily recommend this publication in becoming part of your library, and further more to be read quietly in the confines of a comfortable chair beside a welcoming hearth when the weather without is foul and disquieting – preferably with lots of lightning and thunderous applause.

This book earns an easy 4 from 6 on my scale, very nearly reaching a 5 (and I would recommend a 4/5 on the Amazon scale). It missed gaining the higher scale only due to the failure to stir any sense of real dread in me. Only one story managed that within its shiny cover: Algernon Blackwood’s ‘The Empty House’, but then writers of his ilk have earned the title for a reason.

I believe Aaron Polson has done well in gathering some of our potential master’s of future literary works. Due diligence is required to watch their rising fortunes.

Friday's Post

Today marks the start of my drafting bits and pieces I would normally use over multiple posts, but am trying to gather together for a single post per day - if that makes any sense.

I'm not sure I'll stick with it though. I enjoy just getting on and rambling whenever I have something to say or share. We'll see.

Today I posted my review of RealmShift. If you'd like to see what I said about it you can visit this post over at HorrorScope. On my own scale, I mark it a solid 3 out of 6. I'm looking forward to reading MageSign to see where Alan went with this concept. Stay tuned for that review after I've finished Tainted.

Next - while doing the rounds of the feeds I found this post over at 'How Publishing Really Works'. Why does the old saying of one bad apple spoiling the barrel have to be so true?


An interesting discussion over at Murderati on the pros and cons of when one comes to short story writing by Zoe Sharp.

D - my thoughts on The Uninvited - first up, my wife enjoyed it, so from a purely non-biased viewers POV, I imagine most people will be entertained with this one - as long as you like dark thriller type stuff and if you don't then you have walked into the wrong theatre - please check your ticket and move elsewhere.

From my POV - Red Herring. The flick is full of it, not them, it. 95% of the film is one big Red Herring. I'm considering going back and rewatching it just to see if the explanation at the end actually matches what I saw, because from memory, it doesn't, which amounts to the director lying to me for the duration.

There are some nice bits, some good cheap scares, and a lot of confusion and misdirection, but the ending, which my wife liked, I thought was pretty blah.

Downer bits of the day include:

• Not having heard back from lecturer about assignment 3
• Having received some negative feedback on my seriously condensed plot summary and realising they were spot on so I have to do it all over again regardless of what my lecturer says.
• Not hearing back about the rewrite request I submitted. I know I'm impatient here but the initial request came within a day or so of me submitting so I guess I was expecting a similar speedily reply on the rewrite.
• Spending two hours doing nothing while my daughter ran around playing laser skirmish in an area without a viewers platform. I should have taken a book.

Other good bits of the day:

• I've finished revising version 4 of Dreaming. This will now be winging its way to Jamie so he can play with all the cool new functions he's found in his new OpenOffice product ;c)
• Started reading Tainted - I'm only 12 pages in and if the first story is anything to go by, I'm going to love this.
• It's Friday and I have nothing planned for the weekend - outstanding! No commitments of any kind.
• Helped my wife do a little more of her extremely complicated jigsaw puzzle - we will get this thing finished before Xmas 2010.

So that's my day. I'm not going to do an End of Week wrap up anymore. I couldn't be bothered sifting through all the posts to give a summary. If you want to know what I've managed to get done this week, go back and read the previous posts, but most of you regulars will have already done that so you don't need me to do an EOW wrap, and for that, I'm very much appreciative.

I think I'll just finish Kevin P Keating's offering and send off Dreaming to Jamie before hitting the hay.

Night all.

Review: The Shumann Frequency

The review is now up over at HorrorScope.

Go have a squiz here.

This book was only released to the public on the first of this year, hence my being sent what I think is called a gallery copy as opposed to an ARC. Makes reading somewhat more difficult but this book is worth the effort. On the scale discussed below, The Schumann Frequency comes in at a solid 3.

I'm going to start a scale to determine what is good and what isn't. It'll go something like this:

0 - if anything ever scores a zero I'll be amazed but if it does, run for the hills and poke out your eyes so you may never have to endure it's torture. If I've given it a zero, I have probably already done serious damage to myself.

1 - Chances are this will go on the kindling pile for use next winter. Do not buy this.

2 - This book was okay. If you can get it from a library, a free copy from elsewhere or have received it as a gift, then reading it won't be too bad, but never ever fork out the hard earned for this - there are much better titles to spend your money on.

3 - This was a pleasant way to spend time. I was transported to another place and/or time and gained enough enjoyment from the journey that I don't feel cheated in parting from my cash in the purchase of this title.

4 - A good, well written book. I would happily recommend this to my friends. I would happily buy this as a present for someone I cherished. Recommended purchase to all and sundry.

5 - Outstanding. You must buy this book. If money is tight, then steal it.

6 - Genius. This is literary perfection. This is modern-day Shakespeare. This is written by as close to the hand of God as I've ever encountered.

Examples of how I judge books so far:

I have no examples of the first two thankfully.

2 - One Foot Wrong by Sophie Laguna

3 - Infected by Scott Sigler or The Schumann Frequency

4 - Gratia Placenti by Apex Publications

5 - Books of Blood by Clive Barker

6 - Until now I haven't found anything even close to approaching this.

Most books seem to rest comfortably in the 3 or 4 range. Occasionally I find a 5 and even more rarely I find a 2.

Lastly, remember this is only my opinion. Your tastes may be a long way north or south of mine (or should that be left or right??). If you disagree with my review, I'm happy to discuss things. I'm also happy to hear about similar conclusions you've reached.

If you're an author with books you want reviewed, particularly prior to Australian release, (but I'm happy to read and review for any book in any English market) then feel free to contact me - or leave me a comment in any blog post with a contact email and I'll see what I can do for you. Arrangements for reviews can also be made through contacting Shane at HorrorScope: Australia's Dark Fiction Weblog.

Work Is Really Slow

We have 19 working days left till Xmas breakup (only 29 days till Santa!). Looking around here, you'd think everyone was already on leave.

Under here I launched into a rant about work but just in case the wrong people read this - I've censored myself.

Anyway, I've managed to write three different length reviews for the first book "Promise Not to Tell." I've also downloaded a book on reviewing which has different markets to sell reviews to. I figure once I know which review is going to Black, I can look into selling the other short review to a different market. The full review gets published on HorrorScope in February regardless.

This is all because I haven't been told yet what Black want. They publish 100 and 200 word reviews, while HorrorScope (online and therefore without content size restraints) publish reviews up to 1000 words.

If nothing else, it'll be an interesting exercise into researching what review markets there are out there.

Tonight, after training, I'm finishing the revision of, and submitting to a new market, my short story Idolatry.

Hopefully when I get home, my assignment will also have been returned.

Cheers for now

BT

Almost there

Sometime today, when work permits, I'll finish reading the last of the books I need to review for the next issue of Black. I'll write up the review tonight and send all three of them off to the editor with a day to spare. Then I need to get stuck into some assignments.

Since Thursday October 2nd, (12 days ago) I've read 5 books, completed 2 assignments, and finished off the last of my three articles of this issue of SA50s+.

I've written pretty much 0 of my own fiction.

Over the next 12 days I need to do two (preferably three) assignments, beta read 1 novel, critique another short story, and write at least one (preferably two) chapters of Newland - which has been sadly neglected of late.

I'd like to write a new short as well at some point. Wamphyri was my last original short and that was written back in August. I'm going to go and find the goals I set out at the beginning of the year and see where I'm at...